SORRY, WRONG SENATOR

By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

Whoever wrote the suspicious-looking letter to Karen
Peterson, the Democratic state senator from Stanton,
sent it to her home.

The return address simply read "JA" from Lafayette,
the Cajun city in Louisiana, and Peterson was dubious
about opening the envelope. Not that it was entirely odd
she would be getting mail from outside Delaware, not
after she had become something of a national figure last
month by coming out during the debate on gay marriage.

Peterson opened the letter. It did not explode. It
was not contaminated with anthrax or ricin.

It was just old-fashioned hate mail in all its
cartoonish glory, like the mayor of Whoville could have
received from the Grinch.

It began, "Dear Ms. Peterson, I will not address you
otherwise because I don't think you deserve it."

The letter was about Obamacare. It was written in
rage, not to mention erratic capitalization.

"How DARE you even get up there and spout this
ridiculous notion that just because we do not want the
Obamacare as directed that we don't want reform. . . .
If things don't go your way you scream, 'RACIST!'" it
read.

"I AM JUDGING BY THE OBAMACARE CONTENT, NOT BY
THE LEADER!! It's all about white or black with you
idiots. . . . You are a bigot."

Where letters customarily conclude with a
complimentary closing, this one signed off, "Get a grip.
Get out of office or clean up your act."

Peterson has spoken forcefully on all sorts of
controversial matters, not just gay marriage, but also
in favor of repealing the death penalty and holding the
Catholic Church accountable for sex abuse by priests.
But Obamacare?

It did not make sense, until Peterson realized the
letter writer had misdirected it.

There are two state senators named Karen Peterson,
and the other one is Karen Carter Peterson, a New
Orleans Democrat in the Louisiana legislature in the
letter writer's home state.

The other Peterson, who goes by Carter Peterson, is a
lawyer who became a state senator through a special
election in 2010 after a decade as a state
representative. She is also the chair of the Louisiana
Democratic Party.

It looks like neither Karen Peterson is afraid to
speak out.

Not long after Peterson here spoke about gay
marriage, Carter Peterson there declared the opposition
to Obamacare "comes down to the race of the President,"
and the Lousiana Republicans, including Governor Bobby
Jindal, slammed her for it.

"Not only do you get your own hate mail . . . "
Peterson quipped.

Peterson called Carter Peterson's office to compare
notes and spoke to an aide there, and they had a lively
conversation. Called for comment, Carter Peterson's
office declined to talk Monday but not without offering
a verbal wink.

Peterson said the aide knew all about her when she
called. He told her, "We got a lot of e-mails
congratulating us on marriage equality."